Frontcourt. It must be frontcourt. None of this old-school centers nonsense because, we’re told, the game has changed, the dinosaurs have exited stage-and-tar-pits left and no one wants to get stuck watching Jamaal Magloire bang heads with Brad Miller in the league’s annual showcase.

Except that some of the best seasons in recent memory by legitimate NBA centers are being logged this season in the Eastern Conference. This is a real style vs. substance thing — you don’t seem baseball classifying guys merely as infield and outfield — and with the coaches holding sway over the All-Star benches, the hunch here is that size will matter.

Here are my thoughts on likely and deserving East reserves, who are not necessarily the same guys (for Scott Howard-Cooper‘s look at the West, click here):

THE BACKCOURT

Deron Williams has been an All-Star the past three years. But he’s not playing like one this season (16.6 ppg, 40.6 FG%). After only one year of voting for him, the East coaches haven’t formed the habit yet — and shouldn’t. Because Jrue Holiday (19.0 ppg, 8.8 apg, 2.29 assists-to-turnovers) has been better for Philadelphia, scoring and assisting more and turning the ball over less. And because Kyrie Irving (23.3 ppg, 40.5 3FG%, 21.9 PER) has been good enough to break through that bogus prohibition about “no All Stars from teams with losing records.” Hey coaches, it’s a team sport. You keep penalizing guys who are a little lonely in talent level, you’ll never get free agents to embrace the most challenging situations.

My picks: Holiday, Irving.

THE FRONTCOURT

Roy Hibbert loudly proclaimed “Bull [bleep!]” when asked his thoughts about the new frontcourt category. The Indiana center enjoyed his All-Star experience last winter and felt the rules were getting rigged to make a repeat performance more difficult. In fact, Hibbert’s own play (9.7 ppg, 8.2 rpt, 41.0 FG%) and that of some rival conference big men have made a repeat nearly impossible. Chicago’s Joakim Noah is having a breakthrough season, scoring (12.3 ppg), shooting (10.2 FGAs), assisting (4.1 apg) and blocking (2.0 bpg) more than ever to keep the Bulls afloat in Derrick Rose’s absence. Carlos Boozer (21 double-doubles) and Luol Deng (better numbers than last year, his first as an All-Star) have been solid, too. New York’s Tyson Chandler makes another bid for traditional centers with his 12.4 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 67.2% accuracy and rim defense. Chris Bosh’s numbers aren’t gaudy but on a 36-minute basis (19.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.6 bpg) he’s been fine — and coaches like that sense of sacrifice for other stars. The Nets’ Brook Lopez is playing better (18.6 ppg, 51.7 FG%) than some guys who made it in the past but might miss out.

My picks: Noah, Chandler, Bosh.

THE WILD CARDS

The wild cards: What finally might have been Josh Smith‘s year to crack the All-Star roster fizzled this week with his performance – and one-game team suspension resulting from a reversion to old habits – in the Hawks’ 58-point mess at Chicago. I know the Knicks’ J.R. Smith has remade himself as a contributing team guy, but I can’t see the coaches falling in line on him in just a half season. Then again, Indiana’s Paul George has taken a giant step in the first half of his third season and, in picking up the slack of Danny Granger, is the most valuable Pacer (David West is pretty close). That leaves one spot for someone left over from above – or better yet, for Paul Pierce, still getting it done (21.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 4.2 apg per 36 minutes) for Boston. Some like Charles Barkley prefer half-season wonders but the All-Star Game still is a place to honor and enjoy all-timers in twilight, too.

I hear that the “birdman” Chris Andersen formerly of Denver will play for the heat. He is the perfect player the Heat need, a shotblocker! He will improve the Heat by “Leaps and Bounds” and Blocks. The Heat will be tougher to beat and does not bode well for the Clippers and Thunder. He never got the respect he deserved in Denver, so this move will be great for Chris and the Heat. WIN! WIN!

I hear that the “birdman” Chris Andersen formerly of Denver will play for the heat. He is the perfect player the Heat need, a shotblocker! He will improve the Heat by “Leaps and Bounds” and Blocks. The Heat will be tougher to beat and does not bode well for the Clippers and Thunder. He never got the respect he deserved in Denver, so this move will be great for Chris and the Heat. WIN! WIN!

KG has more fans than noah, chandler, lopez, etc en KG has been an all star for so many yrs it doesnt make a player an all star coz his doing well this season peole like 2 see an all star whos been an all star in his entire career.. all haters can blog all they want but KG is already up there en doing his thing……the reason ur player did not get it coz more people like to see KG plays

Drue Holiday is a better point guard than Kyrie Irving, the best or 2nd best in the east right now. I must say I stand corrected and he should take a spot as a reserves in the all star game. Honestly I think Rajon Rondo should be a starter because without him that Boston can kiss the play offs goodbye, D Will is not an all star to me this year because he is capable of much more and you and I know it. You CANNOT say Brandon Jennings is not an all star. He is the ONLY reason the Bucks are winning. Kind of like LeBron and Wade. Wade is playing up the okay but is not the same, so don’t bring up the Monta Ellis drama. AV of Cleveland is injured right now and can’t play. Noah is playing like a beast on both sides of the floor. Chandler holds it down defensively for New York.

MAN THE ONE THING YOU CANT DO IS GO BY PLAYERS ON THE TEAMS YOU LIKE.
I AM A KNICK FAN AND I KNOW THAT JR SMITH ISNT GOING TO MAKE IT BUT THERES ALWAYS HOPE.

RESERVES
IRIVNG ,JENNINGS ,PAUL GEORGE ,LUOL DENG ,JOSH SMITH BROOK LOPEZ AND A TOSS UP BETWEEN TYSON AND NOAH…IRVING IS A STUD .JENNINGS IS A STAR BOTH ARE HAVING BETTER YEARS THEN JRUE AND D WILL. PAUL GEORGE IS KEEPING INDIANA IN IT LUOL DENG IS SO CONSISTENT AND A GREAT DEFENDER. JOSH SMITH HAVING A CONTRACT SEASON FOR THE HAWKS .BROOK LOPEZ WHO I DO NOT LIKE BECAUSE I THINK HES SOFT HAS PROVEN TO BE THE NETS BEST HALF COURT PLAYER THIS SEASON.TYSON MIGHT NOT GET IN BECAUSE NOAHS NUMBERS ARE BETTER AND BECAUSE NOAH HAS LEAD THE BULLS TO 3 STRIGHT WINS AGAINST CHANDLERS KNICKS (ALTHOUGH WEVE HAD A BUNCH OF PLAYERS OUT AND THEY DINT )NOAH BRINGS MORE TO THE TABLE THEN CHANDLER IN MY EYES.BUT ITS REAL REAL CLOSE.

Bosh doesn’t deserve to be All-Star. Please don’t use his numbers per 36 min. Why he doesn’t play these 36 minutes for a team that have no other good center/power forward?
Pierce deserves more than Bosh, but 3 Celtic players? For a team that not top 4 in the conference?

If we consider all season Deng deserves more than Bosh or Pierce.
If we consider this season and not awarded last one take Josh Smith
If we consider last 10 games don’t forget Boozer. He is the best power forward/center in the East in January by far (24 points, FG% .559, 10.8 reb).

So are player’s team record going to play a role in reserve selection this year? So far it doesn’t look like it. When Ellis was having good years in Golden State, he didn’t make it due to the Warriors record those years. Kyle Lowry was having a MVP type season last year and didn’t make it partly to the Rockets lack of wins. Irving and Holiday are having an amazing season so far, but are being selected to be 2013 nba all-stars despite their team records. I wouldn’t have an issue if reserves were selected based off their numbers every year, but don’t start looking how an individual players stats now and ignore their team records when it played a role in the selection process. JR Smith, Brandon Jennings, or Monta Ellis (despite his below-standard season) should be on the roster if selection process is based off of past years criteras honestly.

That leaves out Williams and Johnson (poor season for both), Irving, Pierce, Boozer, Hibbert ( don’t even mention him here), West, Felton and J.R. Smith. I understand KG is more worth than his stats, but he is only getting 7 rebounds a game. Boozer is having a more productive year for the Bulls and I’d pick him over the Big Ticket. Unfortunately for Boozer, most fans think different…

Larry Sanders is in foultrouble a lot, that’s why he usually doesn’t play many minutes. In his first 11 games he averaged 5 fouls, fouled out of 3 games and even managed to get ejected after just 6 minutes in Miami.

I think Josh Smith deserves to be on the All star Team because people dont consider the defensive side of the floor, and hes averaging 2.3 bpg and 1.3 spg, also his production on the court for only 34 minutes is all star worthy. He also is one of the few power forwards who could put on a dunk show at the All Star game!

First of all Jrue holiday and irving are playing great but there teams are not winning
D will deserves a spot to represent Brooklyn
his numbers are not bad at all its just everyone expect more from him

The reason Kevin Love is not on my list is do to injuries. The reason i picked Kyrie Irving is because he is one of the most outsanding gaurds in the leage today. A top 5 talent. The reason Brandon Jennings, Stephen Curry, David Lee, Leol Deng, Rudy Gay, Tim Duncan, and Josh Smith have made my list is because they have shown up to be good FRANCHISE PLAYERS, who have been the center point of their respective teams and caused them to win althogth they don’t have the best talent in the world. Honnerable mentions:

I can´t believe NO ONE is talking about Al Horford. Unbelievable! He’s one of the TOP FIVE centers in the entire league and is playing the best basketball of his career. I know Noah, Pierce or George deserve an All Star opportunity, but not everyone can be selected. My Eastern Conference reserves are:

How can anyone have D-Will on the list? Since he left UTA his shooting went down… he is far behind Holiday and because of his lack of good shooting % and scoring even behind Irving, his efficiency is worse too. So it´s Irving/Holiday on spots number 6 and 7.

Frontcourt: there are many candidates (Noah, Boozer, Lopez, Bosh, Varejao, Smith, Deng, Pierce….) so picking some is more or less a question of personal taste or minor things. I´d go for Bosh as he still puts up good numbers despite seeing less playing time even compared to his rookie season. Still he manages career bests in FG% and bpg while coming close to career bests in FT%, spg and topg.

Next would be Noah: career bests in scoring, apg, FT%, bpg, spg….average double-double…. not only due to increased playing time but also due to his attitude to and love for the game.

Next would be Varejao (I know he´s injured) but how many players have we seen in the last years with a 14/14 average in 25 games, adding a solid 3,4 apg and 1,5 spg?

That would be spots 8 to 10. As Varejao is injured I´d replace him with Lopez who represents the good season of BKN and is awarded for his EFF48M which is 32,18 whil contributing >18 ppg, >7 rpg and >2 bpg.

The wildcards: I´d like to award one of the ORL players (e.g. Vucevic, Nelson, Afflalo) because they really play a good season compared to their potential and losses of DH12, Anderson… Unfortunately there are better players in other teams and on the resp. positions who deserve it as well. But taking efficiency, importance for the team, numbers, etc. into account I´d go for the two Pauls: Paul Pierce and Paul George.

Replacements in case of further injuries: Vucevic, Boozer, Jennings…..

The surprise: has only started 15/26 games he played, plays 9 mpg less than Jennings but puts up 14,5 ppg/4,5 rpg/5,9 apg and 1,4 spg with more than solid shooting %, top 20 in EFF and top 10 in EFF48M: Kyle Lowry…. but could a reserve of TOR be an All Star

kyrie Irving Def has to be in the all star game he is a great player to watch and he would def make the game more entertainin….I agree with charles picks except i would take out jennings and put in kyrie!!!!!! hes a beast!!! get this kid in there man

Josh Smith deserved a spot last year, but not this year. No to Pierce as well, though, 3 spots for the Celtics- who are barely in the playoff spots? No. If the Cs have 3 all-stars and Brooklyn and Milwaukee and Atlanta have zero between them, it’s a bit odd.

I agree with Irving and Holiday (Jennings and Ellis unlucky). Frontcourt spots Bosh, Chandler and Lopez (There’s a REASON Lopez is 4th in PER in the league. Media types talked him down while he was injured and serially underrate him, he’s a really good player).

Wildcards are Noah and Paul George, although I could easily be talked into Brandon Jennings or Ellis in place of either of them.

how the hell does pierce deserve it when the celtics are barely a playoff team lmfao.

kg barely deserves it himself.

noah yes. chandler yes probably. bosh maybe. on name alone perhaps, but he’s only been playing subpar this year. id substitute lopez in for him or chandler though. i love chandler, big knicks fan unfortunately, but lopez has been putting up better stats across the board than atleast bosh. the nets should have atleast ONE player there, and lopez is 5th in PER (a BS stat, but still)….

george hill yes. irving eh. the kids been injured all year, but yea I can see him in. Same with Jrue.

Paul George is more deserving than Paul Pierce this year as well as J.R. Smith
He is a 22 year old who is doing it all rebounds steals points guards the best player every night and is a big reason why the Pacers are 3rd in the East, with one of the best defenses in the League.

Not taking anything away from those two players and the great years and careers they have both put together but the fact that he does it in all parts of the game should put him ahead of both of those players. Not any question in my mind.

That’s a valid argument and Paul George has had an outstanding year and I can only see him getting better as time goes on. Still, I think in terms of a popularity vote, Paul Pierce wins simply because of his legacy, and also because of his rock-solid consistent stats and being one of the few team-loyal players left in the league (Kobe being the other big one). George will definitely get his time in the spotlight, don’t worry.

Paul Pierce is right up near the lead in scoring in the entire NBA. Where is there even close to a doubt that he should have been a starter but of course is by far the “sixth man” on this All Star team? Granted Boston has been so so this year and that means three Celtics but he can’t help the fans voted Rondo and Garnett.

There are 7 reserves per team, here is what I think should be the East’s:

Backcourt:
Kyrie Irving
Jrue Holiday
Monta Ellis

Frontcourt:
Paul Pierce
Tyson Chandler
Brook Lopez
Joakim Noah

With this lineup you have two of the best scoring guards in the game in Irving and Ellis, and the up-and-coming Holiday who can do it all. Then you have three legit centers, two of which can block and rebound (Chandler & Noah) and one who can score at will (Lopez). To round it out, the Truth, who at 35yo is still one of the premier small forwards in the game averaging 20, 6 and 4.

I would be pretty satisfied with that lineup. Still not a true believer in Josh Smith or J.R. Smith, despite their immense natural talent. Just very inconsistent and immature players (though J.R. has improved a lot this year)

All in all i think J.R.Smith deserves to be on the team. i do not agree with the east starting line up melo yes,lebron yes, Garnett no, wade maybe, rohnodo yes..chandler should have been in the starting five..not just because i am a die hard knicks fan but because he is playing great this season.

brandon jennings is playing better then kyrie and holliday, funny how he dominated them every game he played them.. he also hit a game winner o kyrie this year… smh what about ellis too, the league just hates the bucks smh

Try being a raps fan buddy, I think the only team in NBA history to have the league have to apologize for blown calls deciding a game (two days ago against CHI, and a foul for the win against the Bobcats)

And alos no DeMar talk?!? HIs numbers are better than Joe Johnson (he also has 18 and 5 with better percentages). Even though the Raptors are in contention, DeRozan’s solid play and steady improvement at least warrant a mention. Come on NBA, Canada is cool

lol ur a celtics homer. fab melo? patrick ewing isnt in the NBA anymore… avery bradly? jrue is way better. and anthony davis is in the west. bynum hasnt played this year and blatche isnt better than bosh. some people are clueless. WATCH BASKETBALL IF YOU WANT TO COMMENT!

I like the reserve picks of Irving, Holiday, Noah, Chandler, George, and Pierce. Not really sold on Bosh though. He needs to rebound more and they need him to be more physical, even though that is not his game. That would be his sacrifice, bulking up a little and playing more physical. Then if if numbers decline because he changed his game for the good of the team. Not rewarding him for “sacrifice” by his numbers just declining. Do we really want to punish Josh Smith this much for a slight dip and return to his old ways? I say he gets on intead of Bosh and if you want 3 players from the same team twice on the East squad, then go with JR Smith and give the Knicks 3 not Miami.